UK food businesses must take up the fight against food fraud or face another scandal – that will be the warning at a conference this autumn.
Prof Chris Elliott will tell delegates at the ‘Fighting Food Fraud’ conference on September 17, Doncaster, that the fight has only just begun and can only be won with a co-ordinated effort.
The Belfast-based academic, who was author of the government’s report into the 2013 horsemeat scandal, The Elliott Review, and is Director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, will address the challenges posed by the review and look at how businesses can best protect themselves whilst maintaining supply chain integrity and food authenticity.
Prof Elliott said: ‘Food fraud has fast become one of the key issues for the food industry. From suppliers such as farms and abattoirs, to manufacturers, packagers and supermarkets, even to caterers, restaurants and licensed premises – every business in the chain is affected by food fraud and the negative effect it has upon consumer confidence. It is up to businesses to understand the types of food fraud and its indicators, its penalties and consequences, and why protecting the wider food industry begins with businesses informing and protecting themselves.’
He will be joined by Andy Morling, the recently appointed head of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Food Crime Unit, who will discuss the role of the unit and its impact so far, plus John Figgins, British Retail Consortium (BRC) Technical Specialist, who will provide an insight into compliance with issue seven of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety.
The conference is being organised by Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC), the Doncaster-based awarding organisations for food safety qualifications. Richard Sprenger, HABC Chairman and author of Hygiene for Management and the Food Safety Handbook, said: ‘Food authenticity has come under close scrutiny recently from food retailers, manufacturers and consumers. Food law enforcement must be delivered effectively so that consumers can have confidence in the food they eat. With ongoing work to identify potential food fraud, this has fast become a key topic within the food safety industry.’
The conference takes place at Doncaster Racecourse on September 17. Tickets cost £170 plus VAT (£130 plus VAT for HABC Centres).
To book your place, phone 0845 2260350 or email [email protected]. Visit www.highfieldabc.com.
